Tackling a #BIG South African problem
STAT ATTACK: Flash wins you fans. Tackles win you titles.
That chestnut certainly rings true for the South African teams in the United Rugby Championship.
The tournament’s standings – with two thirds of the league stages completed – reflects felicitously on the South African teams.
First place appears sewn up by runaway leaders Leinster, with 57 points after a perfect 12 from 12 wins this season.
The real race is for second place – with the defending champions, Glasgow Warriors (44 points), leading the chasing pack.
They are followed by the Bulls (41), Sharks (34, but with a game in hand), Munster (33), Cardiff (31), Edinburgh (30) and Connacht (29) making up the top eight.
The Lions, Scarlets, Ospreys, Stormers and Benetton are all on 28 points, with Ulster (27) and Zebre (25) also still within striking distance.
The Dragon, with just one win and eight points, have nothing but a mathematical outside chance of making the play-offs, but most likely destined to remain basement dwellers.
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The biggest challenge for the South African teams is their defensive frailties.
They make up four positions of the five worst performers in the tackling stats this season.
The Lions, in 12th place the leading SA team in the defensive rankings, made 1712 tackles (12th most of all teams), a tackle success rate of 76 percent (14th overall), 233 missed tackles (ninth worst), 171 turnovers lost (third worst) and 87 turnovers won (second most).
The Bulls, joint 12th with the Lions, made 1496 tackles (15th), also with a tackle success rate of 76 percent, 220 tackles missed (12th), 167 turnovers lost (fifth) and 84 turnovers won (fourth).
The Sharks, despite having a tackle success rate of 80 percent (sixth), are 15th overall on the defensive ranking – with 1586 tackles made (14th), 200 tackles missed (14th), 165 turnovers lost (seventh) and 60 turnovers won (15th).
The Stormers are rated as the worst defensive team – with 1488 tackles made (16th), a tackle success rate of 76 percent (same as the Lions and Bulls), 232 tackles missed (10th), 176 turnovers lost (second) and 60 turnovers won (15th).
With six rounds of league action remaining before the play-offs, the one glaring work-on for the SA teams is defence.
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